PAHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies continue partnership to strengthen vital statistics in the Americas – PAHO/WHO

Washington, DC, July 9, 2025 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Bloomberg philanthropies have renewed their agreement to improve civil registration systems and vital statistics (CRV) in the Americas. The agreement extends continuous work under the Global Data For Health (D4H) initiative, aimed at improving how countries collect and use data on births, deaths and causes of death to shape public health policies.

In many countries in the region, death data are still incomplete or inaccurate. For example, in several countries, less than half of death certificates include a documented cause of death. The sub -registration is also common, with more than 20% of deaths not registered in some areas. This lack of reliable information limits the ability of governments to prioritize health needs and assign resources effectively.

To address these challenges, the philanthropies of Paho and Bloomberg will continue to support countries to evaluate and improve their information systems, with a strong focus on the CRV. The project is expected to run up to 2027, allowing sustained effort to strengthen data systems throughout the region.

Key activities under the agreement include:

• Evaluate national CVS systems and propose custom improvements
• Collect the best practices to support data governance, the digital transformation of CRVs systems and the integration and interoperability of ICD-11, the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization
• Provide technical assistance to selected countries based on PAHO 2020-2025 Strategic Plan
• Development of a regional training course to help countries integrate the last iteration of the International Disease Classification (ICD-11) in their health information systems
• The Caribbean support countries and territories to improve the quality and availability of vital statistics to increase the proportion of births and deaths completely and completely registered, and to modernize the systems.

The agreement will also promote international collaboration in the advancement of health information systems, even through the development of workshops that meet interested parties around the world to discuss the digital transformation of the civil registry and vital statistics systems.

The project is aligned with the PAHO for health systems (IS4H) Action Plan 2024–2030, focusing on digital transformation, interoperability of information systems, safe data exchange and capacity construction. Activities to share knowledge, such as a practice community, technical seminars and publications, will also help countries adopt and replicate effective practices.

The agreement will allow countries to generate more complete and reliable data to be better equipped to make evidence -based decisions that can improve health results and reduce inequalities in Americas.